Standalone audio recorders are useful in all sorts of situations. Whether you need to record a business meeting, take a few notes on the go, or hum some chords for your speed-metal band’s newest hit-in-the-making, an audio recording beats written notes, hands down. And if you frequently find yourself capturing video on an iPhone or other pocket cam, you can greatly improve the audio quality of a home movie by capturing external audio and syncing it to your video with editing software.